Created by the Resource Center
Contact theWebmasterLast Updated: 3/1/2011

Garrett County Board of Education
40 South Second Street
Oakland, MD 21550
(301)334-8900

WHISTLE BLOWER

Board Policy

Garrett County Board
of Education (GCBOE) requires its’ employees to observe high standards of
business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and
responsibilities. The Whistle Blower Policy is intended to provide a mechanism
for the reporting of suspected illegal activities or the misuse of GCBOE assets
while protecting employees who make such reports from retaliation.

Questionable Conduct

This policy is designed to
address situations in which an employee or volunteer suspects that another
employee or volunteer has engaged in illegal acts or questionable conduct
involving GCBOE assets. This conduct might include outright theft (of equipment
or cash), fraudulent expense reports, misstatements of any accounts to any GCBOE
employee with managerial authority or to the GCBOE auditors, or a conflict of
interest that results in actual or potential financial harm to the Garrett
County Board of Education. The GCBOE encourages employees and volunteers to
report questionable conduct and has established a reporting system that allows
them to do so anonymously.

Reporting
Responsibility

It
is the responsibility of all representatives to comply with the Policy and to
report violations or suspected violations in accordance with this Whistleblower
Policy.

If an employee or
volunteer suspects another of engaging in illegal acts or conduct involving
misuse of the GCBOE assets, he or she may report such conduct, anonymously if
desired, and the reporting individual will be protected against any form of
harassment, intimidation, discrimination, or retaliation for making such a
report in good faith.

Reports will be made to
the Superintendent or his/her designee. If a report is made in regards to the
Superintendent, the report will be made to the Board President. A full and fair
investigation into all reported matters will be made by keeping the informant’s
identity as confidential as possible.

No Retaliation

No representative who
in good faith reports a violation of the Policy shall suffer harassment,
retaliation, or adverse employment consequence. A representative who retaliates
against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to
discipline up to and including termination of employment. This Whistleblower
Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees and others to raise serious
concerns within the GCBOE prior to seeking resolution outside of the GCBOE.

Accounting and
Auditing Matters

The Director of
Finance shall address all reported concerns or complaints regarding corporate
accounting practices, internal controls or auditing. These concerns will be
documented and shared with the Superintendent or his/her designee and the Board
President.

Acting in Good
Faith

Anyone reporting a
complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation of the Policy must be
acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information
disclosed indicates a violation of the Policy. Any allegations that prove not to
be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or known by the
discloser to be false will be viewed as a serious offense.

Confidentiality

Violations or
suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant
or may be submitted anonymously. Reports of violations or suspected violations
will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to
conduct an adequate investigation.

Handling of
Reported Violations

The Superintendent or
his/her designee or Board President will notify the sender and acknowledge
receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation within five - ten
business days, unless the report was made anonymously.
All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action
will be taken if warranted by the investigation.